


The Grey Area

by PrinceDork



Series: Balanced Youtube Au [1]
Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Supernatural, Video Blogging RPF, Who Killed Markiplier? (Web Series)
Genre: AAAAAAA, Choose Your Own Adventure, Demon Shane Madej, Demons, Gender-neutral Reader, Kinda Crack, Mystery, Not great at relationships, Oop, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader-Insert, but like if yall want the ship then i can do whatever lol, dark be like: hot noises, dark themes, demons n shit, like idk what im doing man, multifandom - Freeform, not really shippy, oh fuvk, oh my fckin god he fckin dead, reader be vibin doe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:00:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23624257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceDork/pseuds/PrinceDork
Summary: A choose your own adventure!You wake up in a strange place, with strange people, and strange circumstances. You are told of a past you can't quite remember, and of abilities and creatures you never thought possible. You have to navigate a brand new world of demons, angels, ghosts, and other odd mythical creatures. All you can trust is yourself.
Relationships: Antisepticeye & Reader, Antisepticeye/Reader, Darkiplier & Reader, Darkiplier/Reader, Ryan Bergara & Reader, Ryan Bergara & Shane Madej, Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej, Shane Madej & Reader
Series: Balanced Youtube Au [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1800133
Comments: 19
Kudos: 49





	1. Chapter 1

Muffled voices, sounding distant, as if someone is speaking through a wall. You have no idea what they are saying. 

You are laying on a hard surface, you think it might be metal. Your body is horribly sore. You’re still clothed. 

You try to move, to open your eyes, do anything, but you are paralyzed. All you can do is wait.

A click, a groan of wood, footsteps. The voices are clear now.

“I’m tellin’ ya’-” Someone is speaking with a thick southern drawl “- it’s a real Neph’. Look, see, got the wings an’ everythin’. 

“Young.” Someone else says, their voice in an accent you can’t quite recognize. “Might still have a family.” 

“I don’t think it knows.” A deep, commanding voice sounds out from your right side. A gentle hand touches your face, as if examining you. Their cold fingers pry open one of your eyes. You can’t make out much, just bright. 

Slowly, you start to make out the figure before you. But before any features make their appearance, they release your eyelids and it snaps shut. 

“A virgin too.” Cackles a thick irish accent, from near the deep voice. There is a murmur in everyone around you. 

“I’ll take it.” The deep voice says after a moment. How much did you say? 

“Two n a half mil.” Replies the southern voice, seeming excited. 

“Dee, please give Mister Hills his credits.” 

“Thank ya’, good sir. This means a lot ta’ me.” 

The deep voice hums as the southern voice and someone else leave, you hear their footsteps. 

A shift, and the deep voice speaks again, this time right beside your ear.

“Rest now, dear.” 

Before you can be alarmed at the fact that he knows you are awake, you fall back into dreamland. 

\---

The next time you awake, it’s much warmer. The surface is soft, and you seem to be tucked into a rather large bed.

It takes you a few moments to recall your previous memories, and the fact that you are somewhere unknown hits you. Your eyes fly open, but take a few moments to adjust to the light. 

Slowly, you sit up. The bed you are resting in is horribly extravagant, with red blankets neatly laid out on you, an almost concerning quantity of pillows, and it’s almost the size of your old bedroom. 

You carefully slide out from under the silky sheets and examine yourself. You’re no longer sore, but still wearing the clothes you were wearing before this whole thing transpired. You reek of month-old sweat, causing you to wrinkle your nose in disgust. 

Beside the bed are tables, on either side. One holds a piece of paper, a letter. Your stiff fingers reach out to take it, delicately picking it up and opening it. 

The paper is yellowed, as if it were an old-timey parchment paper. The writing is very neat and scrawling, with lots of beautiful curves and smooth lines. You admire it for a moment before reading the contents.

_“Make yourself at home, clean up and get dressed. I will be with you soon.” ___

__It isn’t signed, and you flip it over to see if anything else is on the paper._ _

__Nothing._ _

__You stand, noticing your feet are bare and the carpet is so soft and clean. You take a moment to curl your toes in it, before you begin to explore your new surroundings._ _

__The bed is in the direct center of the room, with curtains on either side. You peek through one to see a beautiful sunset, the sun a blood read. You wonder if this is a natural occurrence._ _

__To one side, there is a desk against the wall. You see papers and pens neatly laid out on it, with a nice chair pushed in. Across from it, in the other corner, is a mini-library, stocked with books and holding a pair of plush chairs and a little table. You notice that there seems to be a rug on top of the carpet._ _

__There is also a large door across from the bed, of dark wood and carved with intricate patterns. You try it, but it is locked. You assume this must be the exit._ _

__On the other side of the room are two different doors. The smaller of the two leads to a huge walk-in closet, stock-full of all different types of clothing, accessories, shoes, colours, textures, and patterns. You quickly leave the closet, finding the assortment a bit overwhelming._ _

__The last room is a pair of double doors, leading to a huge bathroom. The counter is probably the size of your old bathroom alone, with a walk-in shower and a jacuzzi-tub. Beside it is a shelf packed with different towels, shampoos, soaps, bath bombs, and all sorts of products. The smell is a bit overwhelming._ _

__After thoroughly exploring your surroundings, you find yourself back in the middle of the main bedroom._ _

__You turn a slow circle, looking around at this horribly extra bedroom._ _

__**What do you do next? ******_ _


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After cleaning up and judging whoever lived here harshly, you decide to sneak out of the room and run into a rather strange face.

You’re still for what feel like hours, mind racing a mile a minute. You were sure that you should be panicking, but you knew to stay calm. Calm so you could plan. Calm so you could get out. 

You still smell. 

You supposed it wouldn’t hurt to take advantage of the overpriced bath products, and the clothing options. You quickly grab something from the wardrobe that looks comfortable enough to escape in, but also looks good. 

You slide into the bathroom and make sure it is thoroughly locked and there aren’t any secret cameras or anything. This place was strange and unsettling - you didn’t quite trust it.

After taking a quick shower, drying and dressing, you explore the rooms for any sort of weapon. Of course, there’s nothing that could be of any use to you. Except maybe the legs of the nightstands, though you weren't sure if you could break it off and not catch any attention. It could be loud.

You peered out the window for a bit, opening the curtains. You were much too high up to get down safely alone, but… 

God, there was no way you could go full on disney princess?

No, too much time. 

You searched the bathroom once again and managed to find yourself the jackpot.

Hair pins. 

Quickly, you scooped a handful and brought them to the front door. You had no idea how to pick a lock, but it couldn’t be that hard, right? 

Okay, it was initially much harder than you thought, trying to jam a little flimsy hair pin in the keyhole and wiggle it around. To be fair, Fallout made it seem a lot easier. 

After ages of struggling, you finally heard a nice little click instead of the usual snap. You perked up, grinning like a madman as you pried open the door, slowly. 

Unlocked.

Fucking finally. 

You stood, brushing off your sore knees and crept out of the room, latching the door behind you quietly. You honestly were expecting a loud creak or alarm system, as whoever owned this place was already extra as fuck. Like, damn, who needed that many bath bombs? 

Maybe they were trying to impress you. 

You scanned the hallways, and your face instantly fell. 

Jeepers, these were long. 

You sighed and began to wander. 

\---

After quite a long time of walking, you managed to find hallways. And a couple more hallways. And a whole maze of hallways. And eventually, a staircase. Relieved, you rushed down the looping stairs until reaching the furthest down you could go. 

As you chose another hallway to resume wandering down, you heard footsteps. You froze, quickly finding where it was coming from and looking for somewhere to hide.

The hallway turned over here, so you rushed to hide behind the wall.

Whoever it was didn’t seem to notice you as they made their way up the stairs, even when you peered around the corner to see who it was.

You couldn’t get much, honestly. They were dressed in black clothing, what appeared to be a Tuxedo. In one hand he held a cane, though it appeared to be purely aesthetic. His hair was jet-black as well, smoothed back neatly. His hands were a strange grey colour, honestly completing the emo look.

When he had disappeared far enough, you took off running down the hall he had come from. Hopefully, it was the way out. 

Suddenly, as you rounded a corner, you slammed into a figure and stumbled back. 

Eyes wide, you tilted your head up and prepared to bolt. 

A man stood before you, looking rather surprised as he looked you up and down. He wore a flowery button-up shirt, which was unbuttoned to reveal a blank shirt, both tucked into jeans. His skin was lightly tanned, very slight stubble visible on his upper lip. His hair was brown and short, but the thing that caught your attention first was a pair of large, dark horns that wrapped around his cheeks, like a goat.

The next thing that startled you were his eyes - they were yellow, and the pupils were square slits, horizontal. Again, goat-like. 

“Well, fuck.” He finally said. 

You said nothing, prepared to run at a moment's notice. 

“Gotta say, I was kinda hoping you’d bust outta that. Dark needs a nice kick in the ass, his ego is reaching a painful high.” He slid one thumb in his pocket, and held out his other hand to shake. “I’m Schlatt, nice to meetcha. Listen, I’m on my way outta this gothic freakshow, and could probably bring ya along. Of course, as long as you don’t tell that emo bitch about me.” 

You were honestly a bit overwhelmed, this goat man was speaking rather loudly. And he was a goat man. Holy shit. 

He seemed to be following your thought process, as he gave a little sigh. “Yeah, alright, I bet you’re confused. I can explain a bit more on your way out, if you come with me. Long story short, you’ve been kidnapped and are in Hell. 

There was silence, as you struggled to process and the goat man - Schlatt, you reminded yourself - waited patiently, his eyes flickering around warily.

“You gotta think fast, kiddo, I really don’t wanna get caught with ya’. As much as I like you, you really don’t wanna get on Dark’s bad side. 

What do you do next?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh fuck its even worse
> 
> yeah so here we are ig
> 
> shoutout to snag who sent me a playlist to listen to while i write like damn this slapppsss
> 
> also sorry about the language but schlatt to me just kinda be like that doe so idk 
> 
> anyways please!!! comment what u would do!! it would mean a lot!!! <3333
> 
> drink some water u dusty f -


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You agree to go with goat man, but during Schlatt's exposition you hear a strange sound.

You nodded and accepted Schlatt’s hand, shaking it. He gave a relieved chuckle. 

“Alright, strap in.” He said, before suddenly snatching your wrist and taking off running. 

You yelped but followed, as the two of you darted through this maze. Damn, who needed this many hallways? You were honestly getting tired from all this running, but the adrenaline was enough to keep you going. 

Finally, Schlatt led you to a small wooden door. He stopped and gave you a moment to catch your breath, you doubled over as he looked around, seemingly unphased. 

“Sorry about all that, kid. I just really don’t wanna get caught. Like I said, Dark is the kinda guy you do not want to be enemies with. We need to be quick -” 

He was cut off mid sentence when there was a loud shout from somewhere else in the building. You knew it was a ways away, but it also sounded like whoever it was, was right in front of you. 

“He found out you’re gone.” Schlatt hissed, quickly grabbing your arm again and throwing open the door. 

You ran for quite a while once again, running through a forest and following game paths until finally, you found a gravel path. Here, Schlatt once again gave you a minute to breathe.

“You alright there, kiddo?” He asked as he began to walk, leading you to jog to catch up and fall in pace beside him. 

“Fine.” You finally said, still panting. 

“So you can talk!” He laughed. 

“I don’t like to.” You admitted, scanning the rather beautiful forest around the two of you. “So, can you explain what the hell is going on? I’m in Hell? Am I dead? What did this Dark-dude want with me?” 

Schlatt let out a little noise. “It’s complicated. You’re in Hell, but not dead. Like I said, some broke-ass demon captured you up on the surface and dragged you down here, sold you off to Dark for a concerningly low price, but whatever. To be honest, I don’t really know what the bitch wants with you.” He scanned over you. “He probably decked your room out, to show off. Wants you to like him. So either he wants to use you for clout, or you have some sort of ability he wants to take advantage of. Either way, not good intentions. Trust me, I’ve been around for a while.” 

You frowned. Neither of those things seemed to add up. You were pretty unremarkable, just some normal Human who did normal Human things. 

“Though, no offense kid, but I honestly can’t tell how you would be useful for either. Maybe he wants your virgin blood for some sort of ritual so he can fuck an Angel or something. He’s weird, I dunno what to expect of him.” 

You nearly gagged. “Excuse me?” 

“Sorry man, but Virginity is a huge deal around here. We can all smell a Virgin from a mile away.” 

“That’s…” You were rather uncomfortable with this comment. 

“Don’t worry, I’m taken, sorry hun.” He laughed again, slapping you on the back. You wrinkled your nose, which caused him to laugh for the third time.

There was a few minutes of silent walking, before finally your curiosity got to you.

“What about you?” 

“Me?” He asked, giving you a sideways glance. 

“Well, you’re a demon, right? Why? What do you do around here? Why were you in that - place?” 

Schlatt was silent for a few moments, as if thinking. 

“Yeah, I’m a demon. Obviously, goat stuff and everything. I’m a demon because of reasons I don’t wanna disclose, but you’ll probably figure out that I’m too much of a dick to end up in the golden city.” He waved his hand dismissively. “And I am one of the more - Human Demons, as weird as it sounds. I’ve been able to find a role in human society, and am pretty famous. Dark respects me for it, I suppose. His host has a similar role in society.”

“His host?” You asked.

“Yeah, it’s really complicated, but the short of it is that in order to be a really powerful demon, you gotta get a Human Host. Normally, the gooder the human, the more powerful you can be. You basically take on their form and face, and share memories, thoughts, and abilities. Kinda hard to explain, but the jist of it is that Dark has a human bro.” 

“What’s the human’s name?” The phrasing felt strange on your tongue. 

“Mark, I think. Pretty similar.”

You stopped walking. 

“You mean like, Mark Mark? Youtuber Mark? Markiplier?”

Schlatt stopped and looked back at you, crossing his arms. “Yeah, why?”

“So Darkiplier is real?” 

“Yeah, though his backstory is a little different than what you may have seen.” 

“Are the other egos?” 

Schlatt was silent, furrowing his brows as he thought. 

“I really don’t know, kiddo. I haven’t seen any, but I spend a lot of time up at the surface.” 

You hummed, thoughtfully, before resuming walking. 

\---

The two of you walked in silence for quite a mile, as you turned this new information over in your head. You were in Hell, beside a demon, and had been sold off to fucking Darkiplier. Probably that emo guy you saw when you were escaping, now that you think about it. But why you? Of all people? 

Your trance was broken when you heard a strange noise, sounding distant but alarmingly close. It reminded you of an old fashioned Television, that couldn’t find the channel so emitted static and… another noise. This noise.

You stopped.

“Do you hear that?”

Schlatt stopped, turning to look at you and raising an eyebrow, curiously. You were momentarily reminded of his strange eyes. 

“Hear what?” He asked, and you couldn’t help but notice a tinge of alarm in his voice.

“Ringing.” You responded, furrowing your eyebrows to think of a good description. “TV can’t find a channel.”

You could see Schlatt’s entire demeanor change from relaxed to confused to downright terrified.

“Shit, shit, shit..” Schlatt’s eyes darted around, frantic. 

“What’s going on?” You asked, growing scared yourself. You didn’t like to be scared, but the pure terror in Schlatt’s face (and the fact that he seemed to be trying to hide it) was enough to terrify you.

“I need to hide, I need to go.” He looked around, before his gaze found you. “Listen, I know this is going to suck cock, but we need to make a deal. You will forget who I am for a bit, for my safety, and I will do my best to bust you outta there as fast as I possibly can. But I need to do a deal with you, which is basically a magic unbreakable contract. We need to act fast. I can’t hide you, he’s tracking you. You’ve gotta trust me, man.”

He looked so afraid.

He held out his hand to you, and you noticed a faint yellow glow emanating for it.

“Do we have a deal?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oob oob oob look im not dead!!!! 
> 
> owo do u make the deal? do u trust mr schlatt? or is he a big meanie? you guys choose in comments below!!!
> 
> lobve u bye <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You accept before you have a chance to think. And then He catches you.

You haven't long to think everything over. You curse the suddenness of this, but you accept.

You reach out and take his hand. A strange buzzing crosses your hand for a moment, as if you had been zapped. 

"Okay, this is gonna be a bit fucked, but work with me here."

You barely have a moment to process his question before his middle and pointer finger of his free hand are pressed into your forehead. Your whole body feels that electric buzz. You try to ask what he's doing, what's going on, but -

\---

You follow the path alone, wary and confused. You're not sure why you were kidnapped, or why it was so easy for you to find your way out. There are bushes and trees on either side of the dirt road. It's almost beautiful. 

That strange ringing noise doesn't leave your head.

A twig snaps; you look around, and for a brief moment see a pair of horns, and what looks like brown fur. 

Odd. 

You keep going, staring ahead of you, alert and afraid of whatever may come for you. 

And something does. 

Somewhere, in the distance, you hear an engine. You freeze, and turn around. A shiny black car over the horizon. 

Heading towards you. 

You quickly take off running, afraid of whoever this may be. After a minute or two of this, you stop and duck into some bushes, crouching down as the wood pokes and prods at you. 

A horribly expensive limousine passes you, and you can see the outline of someone through the window. You hold your breath. Move on, keep driving…

The vehicle stops, and a door opens. A man wearing a full on tuxedo steps out; you recognize him as the grey-skinned man you spotted earlier. 

"I know you're hiding there, darling." He purrs. His voice is buttery smooth, but contains a sense of dominance and control. It's a demand. 

His eyes are dark, and you nearly chuckle at the black eyeliner underneath. The only other colour is a red tie. 

Carefully, you stand, meeting his gaze. The odd ringing noise seems to strengthen, along with the sound of creaking wood. 

You don't break eye contact as you step forward, brushing yourself off. 

He stares you down too. 

"I must say, I am disappointed." He says, holding the cane in both of his hands before him. "I was hoping that all the luxuries I provided you would convince you to at least meet up with me. Hear me out." He shook his head, closing his eyes and sighing, before taking a step towards you. 

You, in return, take a step back. 

"I suppose I'll have to keep you on a tighter leash, per say. I hope you understand, dear. I hate when people mess with my stuff." He opens his eyes, a half smirk on his face with a glare in his gaze. 

You sense danger.

You take another step back, intending to turn around and bolt, but he just snaps his fingers. 

And then he was out of your gaze, everything was spinning, where -

You sit up, eyes wide. You're in a small bed, reminds you of a hospital bed. It's rough on your back, and only a rough blanket protects you from the freezing temperatures of wherever you are. 

It's dark here, you can barely see. 

One of your arms is cuffed to the bed, you notice. 

You huddle close to the blanket, trying to fight the cold room, fruitlessly. 

As you try to peer into your surroundings, you are startled by the sound of an old, squeaky, wooden door opening. At least, it sounds like it. A man walks in - you recognize him as the one who ambushed you previously. 

You find yourself tensing, watching him warily. 

Through the dim light on the other side of the door, you watch him as he moves closer, clutching his cane in one hand as he looks down at you like a misbehaving child.

You decide that you hate him. 

In the other hand he holds a tray stacked with beautiful and luxurious foods, and your stomach growls at you. How long since you last had eaten? 

He hums as he sets the tray down on the bedside table, before sitting in a chair you hadn’t noticed earlier. 

“Good to see you finally awake. Perhaps we can talk, as I had intended to before you ran off.” 

You glared at the food, trying to decide if it was safe. It looked so fancy and expensive, just who was this guy? 

You looked back up at him and met his eyes. They were two different colours, you noted. One red, one blue. He tilted his head and gave a soft smirk.

“Don’t you worry, dear, the food isn’t tainted. And if it was, what’s the worst that could happen?” His voice drops to a low purr. You suppress the urge to growl at him as you carefully pick up a fork (with one hand, the other is stuck to the bed) and hesitate.

There’s a number of awful things that could happen, you think, giving him another wary glare before you begin eating.

It tastes as expensive as it looks. 

You suppress the urge to scarf it down, trying to hold onto some of your dignity. The more you think about it, the more this gives off horror movie vibes. You don’t like it.

The man deadass just stares at you while you eat. 

Finally, when you finish eating, he leans back and speaks. 

“Shall we start from the beginning, darling?” You don’t like what he’s doing with his voice. Is he trying to seduce you? Who the hell does he think he is? You scoff. He notices and cocks an eyebrow, pausing before he resumes speaking. “My name is Darkiplier, though most call me ‘Dark’. You have been taken from Earth due to the incredible nature of your abilities, which managed to get my attention. You are worth quite a lot, dear, and an incredibly useful ally.” He pauses, regarding you for a moment. 

“I wish to train you, to help you. As you grow older, your powers become more prominent, and more people such as myself - who are much less understanding - wish to take you for their own horrid purposes. I merely wish to make a deal, enter a mutually beneficial alliance.” That word again, you notice. 

You are silent, considering his words, but still not speaking. You do not need to. You tilt your head slightly, still watching him carefully. 

“Yes, the details. In summary, the deal would entail your access to shelter, food, security, and training.” He gestures to the food. “You, in return, would help me out from time to time. Keep the other, less tame Demons and Sinners at bay.”

You tense at that word. Demons.

“Oh, of course, I nearly forgot. You are in Hell, or whatever name you have given it. We merely call it Hell.” He leans forward, a dark glint in his eyes as he gets uncomfortably close to you. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

Your blood runs cold. Do you?

Yes, you did.

But how did you know? 

You can’t remember. 

He hums as he watches you, considering you. 

“They wiped your memory, didn’t they, dear? Likely you made a deal without realizing it. Poor thing, they’re already trying to take advantage of you.”

You bristle at those words. You’re not a child. You can handle yourself.

In the burst of anger, you notice something odd. The room is a lot brighter than you remember. You can see it clearly; the stone walls, the two (rather bland) paintings, and the door. Along with another one, half open, revealing a small bathroom.

Dark lets out a chuckle, and your focus whips back to him. What the hell is going on?

“It seems you are already starting to display your talent.” He stands, reaching out a hand and cupping your chin. You feel gross, you hate him. 

“Don’t fucking touch me.” You spit, the light getting much brighter - but not too bright.

You don’t miss his slight flinch as he removes his hand. 

The light slowly fades, and you wonder what the hell just happened. It seemed the light was coming from - from you. Your eyes.

“What the hell did you do to me?” You ask, your voice still sharp as knives as you glare at him.

“I didn’t do anything, dear. That was all you.” He says. “I’m afraid I have more business to tend to, but it will give you time to consider our deal.” He snaps his fingers, and the tray is gone. You also notice that an overhead light has turned on. And the chain on your wrist is gone, but there is a new weight on your ankle. 

God damnit. He shackled your ankle like a cartoon prisoner. 

“Fuck you.” You reply.

He chuckles, leaving you alone in the small creepy dungeon room. 

You run your fingers through your hair, mind spinning.

“Why can’t I remember?”

What do you do next?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> owowowowowo
> 
> man my update schedule is wack 
> 
> awww man he caught you :c
> 
> oh well at least schlatt can helb u,,, i mean who
> 
> don't forget to comment what you'd like to do now!! do u wanna break out, or do u wanna accept his deal, or do u just wanna vibe for eternity? its up to yall!! 
> 
> thansk so much for reading!! love yall!!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you so much for reading this! I'm a bit rusty at writing hhh
> 
> Anyways, how this works is you get to comment what you would like to do/what you want the character to do! Pick whatever you want, within reason lol. Like do you try to jump out the window and fkn die? Do you follow the notes advice? Your call, my dude!
> 
> Much love! <3333


End file.
